Wynn Bringing the Casino Action to Boston

It finally looks like Steve Wynn has the green light to build a casino in Boston. After long, protracted legal battles, the biggest "single phase" private construction project in the history of the state of Massachusetts is underway.

Wynn is now bringing the action to Boston, specifically Everett, which is a suburb just north of Boston. Wynn has been battling to build a casino and resort there for a while now and he recently received an important environmental permit that has allowed him to break ground. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission says that this is the "the largest single phase private construction in the history of the Commonwealth", and it is a project that is going to bring at least 4,000 jobs to the state of Massachusetts. While there are some environmental sacrifices that have to be made, that has been balanced off by the boost it's expected to give the economy.

The big holdup was that environmental permit as the spot where Wynn wanted to build was formerly the home of a chemical plant. Joseph Curtotone, the long-time mayor of Somerville, has been the main antagonist to Wynn's plans for this complex, which is being estimated to cost $2 billion. He says that he isn't going to stand in the way anymore, but he is going to keep a close eye on the situation and if he sees something that he doesn't like, he isn't above going to the courts.

The current design is to essentially bring a taste of Las Vegas to Boston. The idea is to build a hotel that has 500 suites along with a casino that is loaded with both table games and slot machines. There will be lots of restaurants - likely including some star-studded chefs - and plenty of high-end retail stores for people to go to if they're not in the gambling game. Wynn is a brilliant businessman and he knows how to attract those that don't like to gamble.

Everything begins with 500,000 tons of soil that will have to get moved from the site in the next six months. Because of so many delays in the courts, the new resort is aiming for a 2019 launch. By some point in 2017, Wynn hopes that there will be a frame of the resort and then they'll move furniture in by 2018 before launching at some time in the summer of 2019. The $2.1 billion project will be Wynn's first domestic casino and resort outside of Las Vegas. The outside will look similar to the Wynn hotels we see in Las Vegas and Macau.

The Everett shoreline has long been a forgotten area in Massachusetts as it was only occupied by chemical plants, so the state sees this as a positive development. Although gambling is often frowned upon, reviving a decrepit area into - what both the city and Wynn hopes will be - a new bustling area should benefit both parties. The Everett shoreline isn't something that has been attractive to the public in about a century. The casino will be within half an hour of downtown Boston, so it should see some regular foot traffic.